Rumormill: EG to pick up three additional teams?

Disclaimer: This article is based on rumors and includes opinions and speculations that are purely those of the author and do not reflect those of GosuGamers.net or any affiliates.

About two weeks ago, Mushi and his former Orange teammates announced a reunion under a new banner, as the players left the Titan organization. While no new sponsor has been announced just yet, the rumor mill keeps spinning and it looks as if their fate has already been decided. For months there has been a rumor about Evil Geniuses, or rather the GoodGame Agency, having strong intentions of expanding towards the South-East Asian region. In fact, during TI4, supposedly the Titan squad has been approached to possibly play under a new banner and create a new brand, the third for the GG Agency. The path seems to be paved as Team Malaysia did in fact split from Titan and are without a new sponsorship. Players and former manager Oling however did state that nothing is set in stone yet, but their improved presence in the social media sphere indicates that a deal is imminent.

In the meantime, the European scene also sees two teams without a sponsor, in fact two of the currently strongest rosters. Teams Tinker and Secret are currently sitting at the top of the European scene and Team Tinker has publicly stated that they are in fact already under a new banner, yet their sponsor is not ready to reveal himself. Sounds familiar? In 2012, NoTidehunter attended Dreamhack Winter, stating they are fully under the wings of a new sponsor already, who just did not want to reveal himself. It turned out to be a new brand created by the GoodGame Agency.

Looking at Team Secret, the roster consists of high profile players with a global presence. The question is, who can actually afford to pay these players, that certainly will be high in demand? It is obviously no direct indicator that it is in fact EG that will pick them up, but both sides would fit each other's profiles. 

Regardless of what indicators have been publicly acknowledged, the rumors stand that all three teams are new prospects for Alex Garfield, who would sign a total of five Dota 2 squads if that was the case, but more importantly it would be the third gaming organization under the name of the GoodGame Agency. With Evil Geniuses and Alliance, the agency has managed to create two top brands in the eSports scene with players throughout most popular eSports titles. Alliance itself started out with a Dota 2 team but quickly picked up a Starcraft team and a League of Legends squad. With North-America and Europe covered, the next logical step was Asia. 

What effect could a third gaming brand of the same company mean? 

Looking at The International 2014, there can certainly be issues, even if there aren't any. Alliance was forced to play Evil Geniuses on the last playday and the game was crucial for survival, at the same time EG looked to lock down their second place seed. Logically speaking, both teams had a lot at stake and nobody doubted that they wouldn't give it their best. However, these tense scenarios, given it was Valve's fault to create it in the first place, certainly can take place and if there had been a major misplay by EG, it could startle the fans and the community. Imagine if EG for some reason had played the worst game of their tournament.

Since the brands are spread across different continents, not too many situations like these should arise, especially since most international LANs rely on single/double elimination brackets instead of group matches, leaving only little space for cartell like actions. However, if they do decide to pick up multiple teams in the same region, such as Europe, more of these tense scenarios could arise. Obviously, all of these players are considered athletes and fair sportsmen, nobody would expect them to do anything less than give it their absolute best in every scenario possible, but when EG.eu can help out Alliance advance in a very important tournament without risking their own position, questions would be asked once those terms were met. Why give the teams the opportunity and possibility to influence the outcome of a partnered team?

It feels redundant to talk about this issue, considering that Alliance has been around for close to two years now and aside from the scenario at TI4, there has never been an issue like that. It has to be considered however, that both teams play in different regions and thus don't face each other as often. The only organization that does have that issue is Virtus.pro, who currently fields two rosters in the European scene. It has not been an issue thus far however.

So is there an actual downside to a third EG brand or a possible total of five GoodGame Agency managed Dota 2 squads?

Let's look at it this way: What happens at TI10, if it ever gets that far, when half the teams attending are technically under the same brand, or maybe all? A healthy market needs competition, not monopoly. It is healthy for every scene that there are competing organizations, brands and sponsors to get the most value for the players. If all teams are under the same name, it will create a situation that might become much worse than the ACE Alliance in China. 

Every eSports scene needs multiple organizations in it to comepte with one another. That's what makes the matches and tournaments interesting, that's what keeps the market healthy. Sponsors such as CLG, TSM, NIP and many more have been rumored to enter the Dota 2 scene, all of which were just waiting for the right time and the right team. What happens when in a year, all potential prospects are EG.5 and EG.11?

Imagine if things like these happened in football, soccer or basketball. One brand to field multiple teams in the highest of championships. It is to avoid possible matchfixing that teams are not allowed to field more than one roster per league, which is why Barcelona B, despite placing 1st on multiple occasions in the Segunda Divison, the 2nd highest Spanish football league, is not allowed to relegate to the Primera Divison because their main squad is operating there. 

Obviously, there is much more money involved in sports like football, basketball etc, and actual matchfixing and betting is a big issue there, yet eSports is getting to a point where salaries do get quite high and the prize pools grow larger and larger. What if at TI5, EG can influence how much money Alliance and say Team Malaysia, by then maybe EG.SEA, take home? With recent matchfixing incidents in the SEA region, nothing seems too unlikely anymore.

However for now, EG branching out to South-East Asia would be a bliss for the scene. The scene has been struggling last year and up until a few months ago there were only a handful of teams and players that were competitively on par with the rest of the world. The talent however is there and has shown in the form of IAP recently. With a big brand like EG possibly stepping into the scene, it would immediately attract more attention and inevitably more money would flow. That the scene needs more money has become evident when the matchfixing ring was uncovered. Players, tempted by money, resorted to these measures because there was no reliable money from sponsors or tournaments to fall back on. The SEA region would highly benefit from a sponsor or rather brand like the GoodGame Agency to step in.

As for the possible engagement with Team Tinker, it is questionable whether EG needs any more exposure with popular players such as Arteezy or Fear in their ranks, but especially SingSing has shown that he has a trusty followership and he himself as a streamer and personality holds enough value to warrant thinking about a new pickup. In combination with up and coming star qojqva and veteran Pajkatt, the team's popularity and reputation certainly would fit the EG brand. Both sides would benefit, it is just a question of whether the scene would benefit from it.

A new South-East Asian brand would be very welcome, but yet another European team under the GoodGame Agency, potentially even two, could be the first step towards a monopoly. 

However for now, all of this remains speculation.

Image sources : ESL One, stadiumguide.com